Sports Broncos

Broncos' late rally falls short against Chiefs

The game capped the worst year in general manager John Elway's tenure as an executive

By Nicki Jhabvala

The Denver Post

Posted:
01/01/2018 08:42:30 PM MST

Denver Broncos running back De'Angelo Henderson (33) scampers to the end zone for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 31, in Denver, at Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium. (John Leyba / The Denver Post)

The clouds rolled in, the temperature dipped to a biting 17 degrees and within 57 seconds, the Broncos were seemingly done. Finished. Cooked.

Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs' rookie quarterback who had never played in a regular-season game before taking the field Sunday, guided a group of primarily backups against Denver's starting defense and quickly found the end zone on the feet of Kareem Hunt.

The frozen crowd had seen this play out before and knew how it could easily end. Coach Vance Joseph did, too. As Chiefs players jumped in celebration on their sideline, Joseph dropped his head in disappointment as his fate — as well as that of his staff and dozens of players — hung in the balance.

In a game that meant little for their record but everything for their future, the Broncos turned in a 27-24 loss against their playoff-bound AFC West rival. The defeat, which turned into a thriller in the final seconds, dropped the Broncos to 5-11 and capped the worst year in general manager John Elway's tenure as an executive.

Quarterback Paxton Lynch took his second start of the season with the hope of erasing the memory of his previous outing and turned in a telling performance, with wild swings of inefficiency before a strong comeback. He completed 21-of-31 passes for 254 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and one fumble. He also took two sacks and posted a passer rating of 87.3.

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Lynch's interception late in the second quarter was thrown into triple-coverage against the Chiefs' No. 2 defense. Well before the end of the first half, the Broncos benched most of their defensive starters, too, turning the season finale into a preseason 2018 tryout.

But the biggest test was for Lynch as he tried to bounce back from the critical mistake.

Throughout the Broncos' eight-game slide between Oct. 15 and Dec. 3, Elway said one of the most troubling aspects of their losses — often double-digit defeats — was the way they lost and how they struggled to respond to in-game adversity.

In 2015, the Broncos made their close and come-from-behind wins the hallmark of their Super Bowl run. In 2017, the Broncos failed to regroup after mistakes — a pick here, fumble there — and, in turn, allowed opponents to run up the score.

So when Lynch returned from the locker room after halftime for his first drive following the interception, his decisions were critical.

His first try: five plays, a mere 14 yards and a Broncos punt.

The Chiefs then used 18 plays to eat 8:46 off the clock, gain 90 yards, nail a field goal and extend their lead to 17-10. As Kansas City moved into the Broncos' red zone, Denver's defense reached peak disarray as players pointed to one another out of confusion and they were later flagged for having 13 men on the field.

In Lynch's subsequent possessions, he was sacked twice, fumbled once and watched the Chiefs scoop it up for a touchdown, then he threw another interception.

But when Mahomes briefly left the game in the fourth quarter, the Broncos took advantage and forced a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Zaire Anderson and returned 38 yards for the touchdown, and in a last-gasp attempt, Lynch guided the Broncos on a 62-yard drive that he capped with a touchdown lob to Demaryius Thomas. Brandon McManus tied it up at 24-all with his extra point and rookie linebacker DeMarcus Walker sacked Mahomes on the Chiefs ensuing drive and just like that, the Broncos were back.

But not for long. Mahomes engineered one last scoring drive — resulting in a 30-yard field goal as time expired — and quashed any remaining hope in Denver.

The Broncos spun a dud into a nail-biter in the final minutes, but still exhibited many of the same problems that killed their season long ago.

Meanwhile, Mahomes flashed the potential and athleticism of a starter-in-the-making. He had the mistakes typical of a rookie playing in his first regular-season game — that interception into no man's land, other overthrown passes — but he completed 22-of-35 passes for 285 yards and a 76.4 passer rating.

The Broncos have been looking for that. They saw it in spurts with Trevor Siemian to start the year, and for a few quarters from Brock Osweiler. But never did it last. And after Sunday, the Broncos may not have moved any closer to finding it.

The decision to give younger and less experienced players time was made well before the Chiefs rolled into town as Denver began to look ahead to 2018 and take inventory — of talent on the field and on the sideline.

Veteran back Jamaal Charles was inactive for the second consecutive game to give rookie De'Angelo Henderson needed carries before the year expired. Of the constant criticism facing the Broncos and Joseph, especially late in the season, much was about Henderson's playing time when playoffs were long gone. Those calls for Henderson to play were seemingly validated when he sprinted into the end zone on his first touch of the game, a 29-yard catch-and-run to give Denver a 10-3 lead in the second quarter.

And if they Broncos needed another bright spot, they found it in C.J. Anderson, who topped 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career and for the first time for the Broncos since Knowshon Moreno did it in 2013.

But this game will remembered more for what didn't work. This game will remembered as a fitting end to the Broncos' trying season. And in the coming hours and days, it may be remembered as the final game for many in orange and blue.

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